Happy holidays from Mr Baker
As this is my last Messenger article for 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our families a very merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
As I prepare today’s message, I have had time to reflect on what has been a successful year, and a year full of optimism and hope for the future. Personally, 2022 has been my first full year at Woodleigh, without interruption from pandemic-related matters, and my first chance to see everything this school has to offer.
It has also been a year to set our direction for the future, to determine our vision and be clear about the school we want to be and become. Our Learning to Thrive strategic plan is ambitious, hopeful, and most importantly provides clarity about our purpose as a school: the purposeful development of creative, compassionate, skilful and resilient young people who can thrive in an ever-changing world.
This document, while incredibly ambitious, provides the reference point we need to progress as a school and ensure that we continue to challenge the current norms about education, making courageous choices about how best to engage and purposefully develop the young people in our care.
This is an exciting time, yet in 2023 the hard work begins. This work starts with developing a shared understanding within our community about the projects we are embarking upon, a shared commitment to ensuring we deliver on what we promise, and a core belief that our actions will significantly benefit our students. Building capacity, building practice, and building community will be at the heart of these efforts.
In the interim, we will all stop, take a deep breath and enjoy some downtime with our families over the summer break. In order to be effective in the new year, we need to be refreshed and energised by some time away from school.
My hope is that all of our families will have a great Christmas break, will enjoy time together that is joyful and nourishing for the soul. Enjoy some time to read that book, ride that bike, or surf that wave.
Merry Christmas and take care,
DAVID BAKER
Principal
During Week 7 and 8 of Term Four, the Year 9 Indonesian class, along with a few Year 8s, all went to Penbank and Minimbah for their Indonesian day – Pesta Indonesia! We acted as the teachers for the day, and in pairs or trios, we taught the students many different things like Indonesian fruits, clothes, animals and sports.
It was such a cool experience to teach younger kids about what we have learnt throughout our years of learning Indonesian. Our MYP unit of learning was focused on the Celebration of the Indonesian Language and was designed to help us to be creative language learners and to bring our school community together via our common connection as learners of Indonesian.
We all had so much fun interacting with the students, playing language games, and getting to know some of the younger students. We were all surprised by how knowledgeable the students were and their ability to adapt and learn quickly. Every student supported each other and listened; this made our jobs much easier. Both days we were provided with dadar gulung, which are green coconut pancakes with a sweet palm sugar and coconut filling. We also had nasi campur (mixed rice with satay and rendang) which was a delicious Indonesian lunch. Overall, the day was really fun, and we all learnt a lot about the life of a teacher and how to much fun learning (and teaching) a language can be!
LILY LAWSON
Year 9
We are seeking your help and support for what we hope will be an ongoing Service activity in 2023. A group of enthusiastic Lego builders will be re-assembling and repackaging pre-loved Lego pieces and forming them into their original sets or creating new models. The plan is to donate these to various schools and support groups locally to use in their programs.
If you have tubs big or small of unsorted Lego that you would be willing to donate, with or without instruction booklets, then we’d love to have them.
Please drop off at Senior Campus Reception for the attention of Mr Mills.
IAN MILLS
Teacher
Join us for our annual Perkerkoong celebration on the evening of Wednesday 30 November, in the beautiful surrounds of the Bush Chapel.
Perberkoong (a Boon Wurrung word meaning 'come together') is a Woodleigh end-of-year celebration that includes reflections and performances by students from all Woodleigh School campuses, as well as the Nativity Story performed by Minimbah Campus Foundation students.
This annual tradition is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate as a community after a particularly full year of rich learning. It's also an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of traditions and spiritualities within the Woodleigh community.
We hope to see as many Minimbah, Penbank and Senior Campus families as possible on the night. Let us know you're coming at the link below.
Please enter via the main school gate on Golf Links Road and park as directed by the attendants.
Let us know you're coming!
It's been a long time between cordials, but the Woodleigh Arty Market is back after 3-years in hibernation!
A quintessentially Woodleigh occasion, the Arty Market is a celebration of all things handmade, artisanal, and quirky. Pop along to buy artworks, jewellery, food, and homewares designed and/or made by our budding young entrepreneurs and clever community of creatives! Paired with delicious food and drinks from local Mornington Peninsula producers, it's always a beautiful event.
The twilight market will be held next Friday 2 December from 4pm - 8pm at Senior Campus.
Carparking will be available in Gate 1 and Gate 2.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The biggest show in town is back in town after a four-year hiatus!
The Minimbah Fair is back in 2023 with all the fun, activities, stalls and attractions you can poke a half-eaten fairy floss stick at!
Tickets aren't on sale yet... but save the date today!